This invention relates to a door assembly for a vehicle. More particularly, the invention relates a door assembly for an interior vehicle component having a sensor for controlling the movement of the door.
Interior vehicle components, such as instrument panels, often include a compartment or glove box that is formed within the interior component and is accessible by passengers within the vehicle passenger compartment. The compartment is generally separated from the passenger compartment by a cover or door that conceals the compartment and restrains the contents of the compartment within the compartment. It is often desirable to a provide a locking mechanism for restraining a door to an interior compartment, for example, restraining a glove box door to an instrument panel. To release the glove box door from the instrument panel, a handle is provided on the door that allows the user to disengage the locking mechanism. The handle and locking mechanism occupy space within the glove box and may reduce the storage space available within the glove box or increase the size of the glove box assembly.
The glove box door is generally pivotably mounted to the instrument panel. The instrument panel and/or the glove box door may experience warping or deformation during installation within the vehicle or due to exposure to varying temperature and moisture levels within the vehicle. The glove box door and instrument panel may not have or maintain the desired fit relative to one another due to such warping.
It would therefore be advantageous to develop an improved structure for restraining and releasing a door relative to an interior component.
It is known to use a Mirus™ detector cell to detect the position of a glove box door for operating a light within a glove box compartment.